At HeatSync Labs in Mesa, AZ, I noticed an innovative approach for dealing with the stuff that members leave unattended in a makerspace. If members leave a project out on a table, they can be cited with a parking ticket by one of the board members.

If members want to avoid a ticket, they can get a parking pass that details how long they expect to leave stuff out in the space.

Each member of HeatSync Labs has access to a storage box to use to put things away. But as anyone who’s ever had a roommate knows, some people are just not good at picking up after themselves. A makerspace can begin to look pretty cluttered if everyone leaves projects out in a shared workspace.